Modern Day
by rebellion101
Summary: The infernal devices characters placed in the modern day.
1. Prologue

**Modern Day**

**A/N:** What if Will was granted his wish? Or Jessamine hers?

_Jem unhitched his arms from his cane and sighed. "You know I believe we are reborn," he said quietly. "I think if two souls are meant to be together, they will remain together on the Wheel and be together again in the life after this one."_

"_Is that an official teaching or something you invented yourself?" Will asked._

_Jem laughed. "Does it matter?"_

_Will looked at him curiously. "Do you think we will be together again?" At the change in Jem's expression, he added, "I mean, is there a chance for me? To have another life after this, a better one?"_

Basically this story is a mixture of a reincarnation of the gang from the Infernal Devices bringing them into the twenty-first century to an alternate dimension. So the characters will be slightly OOC since I will be placing them into the twenty-first century (and as you know a lot has changed and therefore they have to change) but they will still have similar characteristics as well as other things to the original ones in Clockwork Angel & Clockwork Prince (Infernal Devices Series). And, oh, they will be entirely human (Jessamine's wish) and as far as I've written there will be no paranormal in this story. Meaning possibility of change, but very, very unlikely.

Prologue

Tessa stared angrily out the car's passenger window.

"Cheer up Theresa," her Aunt Harriet called out. "Pouting is very unladylike."

Tessa rolled her eyes sometimes she could swear her aunt came out directly from the 1800's. She was always scolding her for being improper or not feminine enough or just simply not…perfect.

Sighing Tessa started to fiddle around with the car's radio trying to find a station playing something other than classical music.

"Theresa," Aunt Harriet said sternly.

Tessa flipped it back to the original station as she leaned her head against the car window even though she wanted to pound her head against the glass instead. Maybe getting a concussion would cause everything to go back to normal, to the way it used to be. Maybe if she knocked her head hard enough she would escape this nightmare and go back to reality. She looked over at her aunt through the corner of her eyes and saw her giving a stern expression.

Reluctantly Tessa sat up straight, away from the car window. From the back she could hear a snicker and a soft, "Wuss."

She kept her gaze straight ahead, trying to ignore her brother, and keeping herself from getting upset over the fact that Aunt Harriet pretty much let Nathaniel do as he please without reprimanding him. Actually, whenever Nathaniel did anything Aunt Harriet would deem 'improper' it was Tessa that Aunt Harriet would come down on with stricter punishments and harder housework. It was an endless cycle and one that started the day Tessa and Nate's parents died.

Quickly Tessa closed her eyes, wishing and blinking away the tears. She looked over at the rearview mirror to see Nathaniel lying across the back seat with no seat belt on and his eyes fully dilated. He gave her a sloppy grin and there was no doubting that he was drunk—she could smell the brandy from her seat—but seeing him like that was more confirmation than she could take. She tore her gaze from the mirror and stared hard at the endless road in front of them wanting and hoping for a life she could never have, a family she could never be a part of.

* * *

><p>"Will? William!"<p>

Will tore his gaze from the window to look over at an impatient Amelie.

Her arms were crossed over her chest and her gaze was narrowed on him. "You weren't listening to a word I was saying, were you?" She didn't give him a chance to answer as she moved around him and looked at the window huffing out, "You were just staring out the window ignoring me. There isn't even anything out there remotely interesting. Just some father with his son."

She flung her arm out in emphasis to the scene of the father and son laughing as they walked down the street before disappearing around the corner.

She turned back to Will. "Honestly, I don't know what's with you these days."

Staring at her he wondered how she couldn't know. Sure, he hadn't told her every detail but he knew she had heard enough to piece together the events. And she did run, somewhat, in Jessamine's circle and everyone in the town knew how much of a blabbermouth she was.

But Will didn't say anything, kept silent about his own issues as he said, "Sorry." It didn't come out very strong, but Amelie either didn't know or didn't care.

She looked at him hard before her face softened and a small smile appeared, enhancing her beauty. "It's alright," she replied with a sigh before taking his hand and pulling him away from the window. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't make any other plans for Saturday night with Jem or something."

"Saturday?" Will asked. "No, why?"

"There's a party being thrown over at Martin Stutts. I want to make an appearance there for at least two hours or so, you know, and catch up with everybody to see how their summer went," she said swinging their hands lightly as they approached the close door. "You can see if Jem wants to come."

_Jem? A party? _Unless that party had classical music playing he wouldn't want to go. Jem had never enjoyed the type of parties Amelie wanted to attend, too many people he didn't really know or get to know with how loud the music would be. But Will would never tell Amelie that.

He scratched his head as he replied, "I don't kn…"

"He can even bring a date," Amelie cut in. "I know a few girls who would be dying to go with him," she added with a large smile.

Amelie had been dying to set Jem up with one of her friends for the simple reason she wanted to go on a double date. They hadn't gone on many for one reason being Will couldn't stand most of the guys Amelie's friends went out with and even a few of Amelie's friends but those usually weren't close friends.

"I'll see what he says," Will replied as Amelie's eyes sparkled.

"Thank you." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips. Her head turned back towards the closed door. "Now we better go inside. I'm sure they've already started the poetry session by now since you were so intent on your staring into nothingness."

* * *

><p>They entered the house, their new house. It would never be home, not for Tessa.<p>

She stared up at the winding staircase feeling an impending sense of dread before her aunt's voice called out for her, cutting through the silence as sharp as a knife.

"Theresa, we do not have all day! Now stop straddling along and help move the boxes inside."

Tessa sighed as she turned back to the direction of the front door and her Aunt Harriet's voice. She was tester than usual, but that may have more to do with Nathaniel's current state.

When Tessa reached the doorway Nathaniel came slumping around the corner, blocking her exit. He leaned against the doorway, obviously too intoxicated to even stand upright. His grin was sloppier than before and Tessa wondered if he had gotten his hands on even more alcohol, although how she did not know. Aunt Harriet had thrown away every liquor bottle she could find when she found the state Nathaniel was in that morning. She never confronted him about it though and apparently he had hidden and snuck the bottles during the trip. It was a great way to start life in their new town.

Catching the whiff of alcohol as strong as if it had been smoke coming from his coat—which it was still too warm to wear—Tessa stepped back. Her nose twitched at the repulsive smell and her eyes averted from the daunting look he was giving her.

"Ah, Tess—ie," Nate sneered in his drunken state. "Have chores to do, like a good little girl."

Tessa's eyes closed for a minute. It was as if he had called her one of the worst names by the way he scoffed out 'good little girl'.

"Don't you think it is a little too early to be smashed, Nate," Tessa replied, opening her eyes.

Nate only leaned down to her and said, "It's never too early to be _smashed_ on life, Tess—ie," before smirking and clumsily making his way to the staircase.

Tessa could still smell the brandy, practically taste it, as she watched her brother go in disgust. He hadn't always been this way. Once Nate had actually been an older brother she could look up to, but that was a long time ago back to when they had two parents.

"THERESA!" Aunt Harriet shouted, short-tempered and irritated.

If it had been Tessa's mother here instead of Harriet she wouldn't be shouting out Tessa's name, she would be forcing Nate to sober up and help out. It was Aunt Harriet who was the adult here not Nate, not that anybody could tell.

Before waiting for another angry shout from Aunt Harriet Tessa quickly went back through the door and out to the car. But, of course, for Aunt Harriet that wasn't nearly fast enough.

* * *

><p>Jessamine Lovelace twirled around in the mirror, admiring her new dress. It was a dress she picked out only a few days ago and one that would be perfect to wear for the first day back to school although she would only be wearing it for half that school day before changing again. Still, she admired herself in the mirror as she posed.<p>

The dress was a dark green satin that looked great on her. It hugged her tightly in all the right places—she had it fitted for that intent purpose—emphasizing the curves that were starting to appear. She smiled at her reflection knowing that many eyes, many boy's eyes, would be on here that day, a mere freshmen making a strong impression. Maybe even older boys…seniors, possibly…

A face in the mirror caught her attention. It was Jem and she raised an eyebrow as she turned around to face him.

He was staring at her with a strange look.

"Yes, Jem?" she asked. "Is there something you want?"

He rubbed his neck as he said, "Jessie, don't you think that dress is…uh…a little too much. You're not planning on wearing it to school, are you?"

"Of course, I am," Jessamine replied, sounding slightly insulted. "It's perfect. And it's not like other people won't be wearing less, much less."

"Yes, but…" He shook his head. "Never mind, dinner's almost ready just to let you know." He stepped out of the doorway before turning, looking at her once more, and then walking away with his head slowly shaking from side to side.

Jessamine pursed her lips as she turned to look at her reflection once more. _Maybe it was too revealing?_ But as Jessamine turned from side to side she decided she didn't care and Jem would just have to deal with the fact that she was a woman now and not the little girl he grew up with.

* * *

><p>Tessa looked over her shoulder at the clock. It read 6:43.<p>

She glanced back at the table she sat at. Three plates were set but only one had a meal, or half a meal, on it while the two others stood barren across from each other with plenty of food remaining in the middle of the table.

Sighing Tessa stood up and filled both plates with food and wrapped them in tin-foil. She then cleared the table, placed one of the plates in the microwave, and wrote a note for her Aunt which she placed on the kitchen counter.

Aunt Harriet had left shortly after they had loaded the last boxes in the house. She said she had to leave for a short time but would be back soon. That, of course, was hours ago. And it wasn't much longer after Aunt Harriet left when Tessa was in her room unpacking boxes of hers that she heard the window in Nathaniel's room, on the other side of the wall, opening and looking out her window she saw Nathaniel climbing down the wall, jumping, and then sprinting across the grass, while pausing for a second to look over at her with a smirk on his face, before he continued his dash down the street.

Tessa picked up the remaining tin-foiled plate and carried it with her upstairs. She placed it outside of Nathaniel's room knowing better than to enter his room. She made that mistake once where she saw items she didn't want to see scattered all across his bedroom as if mocking her, or maybe he was mocking Aunt Harriet.

Shaking her head Tessa walked the short distance to her bedroom door and went inside. It felt cold and lonely inside, which sadly reminded her of the small apartment they left back in New York.

She smiled bitterly as nothing felt different, nothing changed. She was by herself with no idea where her Aunt or her brother were. The only thing that had changed was that it was a house, a large house, but that only emphasized the emptiness.

She walked over to her bed and sat down before pulling an open box towards herself. She dug around inside the box before her hands passed over a familiar friend. She smiled as she pulled out her worn _Tales of Two Cities_ book. Her most prized possession. It was one of the original editions that her father had found in an antique bookshelf over in London while on business.

Lifting the book to her face she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. It still held that old book smell that she loved. Sitting back against her headboard she flipped to the first page and read while she listened for someone to return back to the house.

_It was the best of time, it was the worst of times…_

**A/N: So that's the prologue, longer than I intended but that's mainly because I wanted to get the different characters POVs in the story. So what are your thoughts of the modernized Infernal Devices characters? And of course more Infernal Devices characters will be appearing in the next coming chapters such as Henry, Charlotte, Sophie, Gabriel, ect. along with a few new characters like Amelie. So review and tell me what you think.**

_Next chapter first day of high school where characters will start to cross paths._

"Alright, class, I hope you picked the right seats for today because for the person sitting with you will be your lab partner for the rest of the year. So, I'll give you exactly two minutes to introduce yourselves and become acquainted with each other, after that I will give you your first assignment." He went over and sat down at his desk and the room instantly erupted into conversation.

Tessa turned towards…


	2. The Days of Anew

**A/N: Alright, guys, I know it's been a long time since I posted the prologue, which I think had been a bit long for a prologue. Anyway hopefully the fact that this chapter is fairly long will make up for the absence and continued absence since papers, finals, and presentations are coming up for me. I actually should be working on a 7-8 page paper due at four tomorrow, but instead I'm procrastinating and updating the story. I'm not procrastinating too bad since I do have the entire paper written and have had several drafts finished, I'm just still not quite happy with parts of the paper yet. But regardless, I don't know when my next update will be since the rest of April and early May are the last class days signaling major work days, then in Mid to late May I will be on vacation to Florida, and by the time June comes around I will be starting my first summer class followed by next summer class in July. Ah, summer school sessions, what joy. I might possibly have time to work on the story in Florida, but it's not a guarantee. But let's get on with the story.**

***SPOILER WARNING FOR CLOCKWORK PRINCE IN THIS CHAPTER* It's **_**NOT ANY MAJOR SPOILERS**_**, don't worry if you haven't read the book yet. It's just that one character introduced in the beginning of Clockwork Prince will be mentioned briefly in this chapter.**

Chapter 1

The Days of Anew

The morning was silent as usual when Tessa woke up. The _Tale of Two Cities_ rested upon her, open about midway through the book. Tessa picked it up, closed it, and set it on the night stand.

Her room was still pretty bare as she unpacked very little, not that there was much to unpack anyway. The most type of possessions she had were her books.

She looked out the window to see that it was still fairly dark outside and then to her clock to see that it was only a little after five in the morning. She had a couple of hours to shower, dress, and eat before Aunt Harriet drove her to school.

The first day of high school in a new small town where she knew no one. Her stomach started to tighten at the thought.

She desperately wished she was back in New York City. True, the public high school there would have many more students than the entire population of this small town and for one Tessa hated crowds. But at least in the high school there she would have a chance at least for recognizing some of her previous classmates and she knew for certain that she could recognize Nate's friends in a heartbeat. But New York was also the state she was born and grew up in and knew her way around. She knew which subway station to take to get to which destination and at what time. She had even started going by herself without her Aunt Harriet for almost a year now. And she could give one heck of a whistle for a cab.

Against the wall behind her bed she heard rustling and new that Nate had come back home sometime during the night when she had fallen asleep. Relief filled her. As much as she couldn't stand the actions of her brother she still felt glad when he was in the house alive, unharmed. The relief, however, did not last long.

There was more rustling, then a loud noise as if something had fallen, and a string of curses from an all too familiar voice. Tessa froze in the middle of the room. She hears shushing coming from the inside of the room and then there were footsteps coming from downstairs towards the staircase.

The tight clench on her heart loosened as Tessa heard the familiar clack of Aunt Harriet's shoes from downstairs. She could hear her Aunt Harriet take a few steps on the staircase as if coming up to investigate before deciding to retreat back down the stairs and disappear.

There was chuckling from the other room. "Told you she wouldn't come up here. She doesn't have the balls. Now, where did you put the rest of the stash?" There was more shuffling, louder now.

Tessa heard the haziness in Nate's voice and knew what exactly was going on in the next room. It was the first day of school, but Tessa knew that Nate would not be making his appearance there for today and maybe that was for the best. But suddenly those couple of hours away before school start felt like an entirety for her. She never wanted to go to school so badly in her life.

* * *

><p>Will sat at the table in the Starbucks drinking his coffee, black and dark. His mother wouldn't be too thrilled if she knew her fourteen year old son was drinking coffee. She always lectured how addictive it was and complained how bitter it tasted even though she herself had one cup a day (with extra milk poured in). For the most past though, Will stayed away from coffee. But today was the first day of school, the first day of high school and Will had a feeling he would be needing the extra caffeine.<p>

"Do you know your classes?" Jem asked stirring his own drink from across the table. He was stirring his tea (as he also didn't believe in coffee) and shifted through his papers.

Papers with listing of classes, room numbers, and teachers' names, Will saw.

_Overachiever._

"Nope," Will replied as Jem glanced up. He took a long sip of his drink while Jem studied him.

When Will set the cup back down Jem asked, "Are you going to look at the list before we go to school?" Will shrugged. Jem narrowed his gaze. "Did you even bring the list with you?"

"I believe not," Will said as he turned his eyes toward the window. He could still see Jem from the corner of his eye shaking his head but already reaching for his bag. Will's lips curved up slightly as he added, "But I believe I need not worry about that." He turned just as Jem set folded pieces of paper on the table between them. Will picked up the sheet and briefly glanced over the list all the while saying, "I know I can always count on you James."

Jem only replied, "I really worry what would you do without Amelie and me, Will." Before Will could respond Jem looked at his watch. "Ten minutes before the first bell rings and it will take about six minutes at least to get over to the school." Jem stood, pulling a few dollars bills from his pocket and placing it on the table, and waited. Will downed the rest of the coffee in two gulps, a record for him, stood up, paid for the rest, and started heading for the door with Jem.

As Will looked down at the schedule in his hands he started to wonder what he would do without Jem or Amelie in his life.

* * *

><p>After a quick briefing with the assistant in the principal's office Tessa held her school schedule tightly in her hands while Aunt Harriet gave her a few parting words and left. Nate, to neither of their surprise, showed up for breakfast that morning. Aunt Harriet still played it off to the principal saying he wasn't feeling well and would possibly coming by the school later in the day. Tessa didn't need a heart detector to tell that her aunt was lying, but the principal didn't think too much of it and handed Aunt Harriet his schedule in case he was unable to make it for the day.<p>

The second bell rang as Tessa stood in the front hallway. The people in the hall were starting to lessen as they found their ways to the classroom and with a sigh Tessa looked at her schedule in her hand and then the map. It was just her luck to have her first be in the classroom the furthest in the school. With a quick re-glance at the room number Tessa dashed down the hall in search of her first class, hoping not to be too late.

* * *

><p>The day went steadily by as she entered the fourth class of the day, one right after lunch. To Tessa's relief no one paid her much attention and none of the teacher's had made an announcement about her new revival or even worse ask her to say a few things about herself. It was the one thing she had been dreading the most being put on the spotlight and most of the novels she read where the character made her first arrival in a new school there would be a big deal made. But here, for this small town, it appeared the rules were different where no one gave much mind to the new student.<p>

Reaching the door of her science class she could see that not too many people were inside, it was pretty bare. There was still about eight minutes left before class so that wasn't much of a surprise. Tessa took her seat near the back, not wanting to bring much attention on herself and waited as the clock ticked by and students slowly started filling the classroom.

Tessa looked around the class and saw that every other seat was taken except the one next to her. She was the only one in the class who didn't have someone sitting next to her. And as she took in all the smiling faces that were talking rapidly to their tablemates she tried not to feel left out, this was what she wanted to be unnoticed yet she didn't want to be completely ignored.

After eyeing the class Mr. Ross looked at the clock and then down at his watch and shook his head. He was about ready to speak when someone burst into the room.

Tessa stared at the slightly disheveled, out-of-breath girl with long, flowing blonde hair cascading down to her waist. She was standing in the doorway of the classroom clutching papers in her hand while her back-pack (which looked suspiciously empty) hung loosely over one shoulder. She had a heart-shaped face, startling chocolate brown eyes, and curves that any girl in the classroom would kill for. Of course those curves were only enhanced with the cheerleading outfit she wore with—what seemed to Tessa—an incredibly short skirt.

The teacher turned his eyes over to the girl and looking over the rim of his glasses gave her a very annoyed look. "Pushing it already, Ms. Lovelace, don't you think?"

The girl simply threw her hair back over her shoulder while giving a hearty laugh to the teacher. "Oh, Mr. Ross, you wouldn't believe how demanding the cheer association can be," the girl replied throwing her hands in the air and smiling. "It's a very time-consuming field, cheerleading." She handed over the papers in her hand to the teacher as he looked through them.

"Uh, huh," Mr. Ross replied still not looking all too happy. "Go ahead and take your seat Ms. Lovelace," he told her as he set the papers down on his desk. The girl flashed him an award-winning smile before gliding down the aisle to sit next to Tessa. "Alright, class, I hope you picked the right seats for today because for the rest of the year the person sitting with you will be your lab partner for the rest of the year. So, I'll give you exactly two minutes to introduce yourselves and become acquainted with each other after that I will give you your first assignment." He went over and sat down at his desk and the room instantly erupted into conversation.

Tessa turned towards the girl sitting next to her.

"My name's Jessamine. Jessamine Lovelace," Jessamine said holding out her hand. "I guess we're going to be partners."

"Tessa Gray," Tessa replied shaking Jessamine's hand. "I guess so."

They let go of each other's hand and Jessamine tilted her head. "I don't believe I've seen you before and I know practically everyone in this town. It's not very big."

"No. It isn't," Tessa replied. "And I just moved here. I'm from New York." Jessamine's eyes widened and she straightened up quickly into a position even Aunt Harriet would have been proud of.

"Really? The Big Apple, you say?" Jessamine asked with a smile and Tessa knew then that she had made at least one friend for the day.

* * *

><p>"Are you a sophomore?" Tessa asked Jessamine as they walked down the hallway after class let out.<p>

"No, I'm a freshman," Jessamine replied.

Tessa narrowed her eyes as she asked, "But you're a cheerleader already?" It was the first day of school, how could she already be a part of the cheerleading team.

Jessamine nodded and chuckled. "Yeah, well, we do things different in this town. Cheerleading tryouts were held over the summer a few weeks before school started. The high-school likes to have a full cheerleading team at the very beginning of the school year," she said smugly, emphasizing every other word. "I guess it's why we're the best in the state." Her eyes were shining bright with pride as if she had something to do with it even though she had just started.

Movement down at the end of the hallway caught Jessamine's attention. She made a scoff of deration as she shook her head. "Oh, Mindy, when will you learn that blue is not your color."

Tessa looked in Jessamine's direction eyesight, but didn't see anything significant, just a throng of students pushing their way to class or standing around chatting away. And there were a _lot_ of students wearing blue.

With a quick shake of her head Jessamine looked back over at Tessa and seemed to be appraising her as she looked at her from head to toe. Tessa started to feel uncertain of her own choice of appearance; no one usually gave her much of a glance. She was more of the girl who blended in the group with a nose in a book that no one spared a look at.

And she was fine with that. It was much better than being assessed and judged.

Before Tessa could comment a quirk in Jessamine's lips appeared before she said, "See you in class tomorrow, lab partner," and with a gracefulness Tessa didn't know was possible Jessamine turned and blended with the crowd.

She was gone in seconds. Tessa scanned through the crowd, but she could not catch a glimpse of the blonde hair swishing back and forth. In that moment Tessa envied Jessamine just a little for disappearing blending in with the crowd so easily. She felt out of place as she was jostled through the crowd.

* * *

><p>After a short conversation with Melinda, aka "Mindy", about her poor choice in fashion styles, Jessamine headed towards her final class of the day and her most dreaded, gym class.<p>

Granted Jessamine was an active, athletic girl, always had been. She had taken gymnastics and dance both when she was young and now she was in cheerleading. The only difference was that in this gym class it wasn't just about getting active but getting physical. It was a fight class no matter how many times they tried to spin it to her. 'Self-defense' was usually their biggest alternative word, but Jessamine knew better and she knew that the last thing she wanted to do was fight someone, much less a guy. It wasn't what she believed in, but _Charlotte_ refused to let her get out of this one.

She walked slowly, _very slowly_, down the halls towards the outdoor gym on the other side of the school. She took the long way as well, which was also the deserted hallways that contained very few classrooms, mostly the rooms were for storage.

There was a sudden crash that startled Jessamine in mid-walk. She turned her head towards one of the storage rooms on the left side of the hall. A muffled but distinct voice sounded through that almost made Jessamine roll her eyes.

"No…I have to get to class…you're going to make me late…" Followed closely by several giggles.

Jessmaine didn't need to open the door nor did she need x-ray vision to know that Amelie was in there with Will.

With a smirk and a shake of her head she headed the rest of the way to gym class.

* * *

><p>It was Spanish class one, the last class of the day for Tessa, and her most dreaded one. Tessa never had much trouble with school she excelled especially with literature class and even her history classes she could ace without trying too hard, not that she would ever brag about that. Okay, she maybe she might have the urge once and a while to gloat over Nathaniel or revel in with Aunt Harriet. Not that either would listen to her.<p>

However, everyone had their Achilles' heel and for Tessa that was a foreign language. Upon Aunt Harriet's request she took French when she was younger, or tried to anyway. She took the class for almost three years, but was never very successful at it. She memorized the words, the phrases, and even had the accent almost perfect, but that was the problem. All she did was memorize and repeat, she could never think in French but always have to translate her English into French or her French into English. And according to her French teacher if she could never to think in the language she would never learn to truly speak it.

But as the Scottish poet and author, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, _"You cannot run away from a weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?"_ Already standing inside the classroom, Tessa might as well stay and fight to get through the year with a passing grade.

Quickly scanning the desks, she saw that already all the students had arrived in the class causing Tessa to feel self-consciously late. There was only one desk, near the back, next to a girl with short brunette hair in a razor sharp hairstyle with luminous dark hazel eyes peeking out. She had several earrings across her earlobes, a silver cross necklace hanging around her neck, and a dark jacket wrapped around her.

She was pretty, almost enough to compete with Jessamine's looks. Only one aspect was out of place that marred her beauty slightly. A scar as clear as morning light from across the corner of her mouth all the way to her temple.

Her head lifted up and she narrowed her eyes as if studying Tessa, but it only lasted a few seconds. Whatever it is she saw either pleased or amused her as she turned her head back down with a smirk.

* * *

><p>Gym class had been in session for a total of four minutes before Amelie slid through the doors and sidled up to the front standing in between Thomas and Jessamine.<p>

The coach continued to speak not noticing the newest member in the gym even though she had been half-turned to the door and could have easily seen her out of the corner of her. This didn't surprise Jessamine much though. Amelie Summers had always known how to slither unnoticed. As the coach turned her back fully to the girls, Jessamine leaned over and under her breath said, "Have a nice rendezvous in the storage closet? I didn't even think you would stoop so low Amelie."

And a half-second later the coach blew her whistle a signal for everyone to scatter with the partner they had chosen for the day.

Jessamine smiled and turned leaving Amelie wide-eyed as she walked over to the weight lifts with Thomas. She had known the boy for a long time, although that could be said about anyone in the school excluding a few such as the new girl from New York. But she remembered when he and his brother Cyril would come over to the house when they were younger with their parents who had been good friend with Henry and Charlotte. And while the two boys looked a lot alike in their bone structure and coloring, they could easily be told apart by the fact that Cyril had been well-built and robust while Thomas had been lean and scrawny.

It wasn't too much of a surprise to Jessamine when Cyril had enlisted into the army. Looking at Thomas she could still see very much of Cyril in him in the way his lips curled and his brow furrowed. He hadn't changed much since they were kids, he still looked fairly lean although Jessamine could see the faint lines of muscles and the new weather-beaten look on his face that she knew hadn't been there before Cyril's departure.

But she still couldn't forget the time when William had visited and while he couldn't bring Cyril down easily, when they were tumbling around the way little boys do, he had no trouble brining Thomas to the ground even though he had been older and taller than Will.

Not much could have changed since those days, which was why Jessamine picked him thinking he wouldn't be too hard of an opponent. Since there was no way Jessamine was going to pick one of the girls to partner up with she knew most of them well enough that the girls scratched and clawed and Jessamine was not going to let her face or clothes come into damage. Thomas, she thought, she could take. But by the end of the class she realized that more changes had occurred than she had originally thought.

* * *

><p>"Buenos Diez, senorita," the teacher exclaimed before Tessa was able to take her seat and safely blend into the class.<p>

Tessa froze as she stared at the teacher who was smiling at her, hands clapped together. She had thought she would make it through the day without too much of a fuss with the new student status quo and so far the teachers had been more than willing to comply by barely sparing her a second glass. This teacher Tessa realized was going to be different.

"Clase," the teacher announced addressing the other students as she came to stand next to Tessa. "Quiero que usted diga hola a nuevo estudiante."

On cue the class said, "Hola" in unison and Tessa started wondering how late she had been to this class or if she was in the wrong one.

Before Tessa had a chance to ask the teacher turned to her and said, "Puede usted por favor decrimos de donde usted es?"

Tessa stared at her teacher blankly and realized this was going to be a long class. But fortunately enough the girl with the scar threw Tessa a life vest and said, "Tell us, where are you from?"

The teacher frowned slightly at the other girl as Tessa smiled gratefully to her and stated clearly and in English, "I'm from New York City." She turned her head to the teacher and said, "I think I might be in the wrong class."

But the teacher only shook her head and to Tessa's relief pushed her towards her desk. "Nonsense. This is Spanish One, the class where we will speak nothing but Spanish, the only real way to learn."

When Tessa had reached her desk and sank down the rest of the class groaned. When the teacher turned to the board to write—what Tessa assumed was the lesson plan but couldn't tell because it was in Spanish of course—the girl next to her stuck out her hand and said in a voice not as soft as a whisper but quieter than a regular voice, "Sophie Collins."

With a slight shake of her hand Tessa replied, "Tessa Gray."

**A/N: I took Spanish for about four and a half years, but I don't remember much so there may be sentences that are off such as being not in the correct grammar.**

* * *

><p>When Jem finally caught sight of Will he was running, a little out of breath, and late, very late.<p>

But Jem was not the only one to notice Will's sudden, disheveled, appearance the teacher was also taking note.

"Nice of you to finally grace us with your presence _Mr. Herondale_," the teacher spoke in Will's direction with an icy glare. He emphasized Herondale as if the name was pure poison. It was only the first day of school and already Will was making not the greatest impression although this wasn't anything too new and didn't make too much of a difference in a town this small when your teachers most likely knew you well before you actually walked through the doors.

Will only grinned, completely unbothered by the teacher's demeanor, and replied with a slight lilt in his voice—mimicking the teacher's British accent—"Why it's always a pleasure of mine to give the people what they want."

The teacher seemed even angrier although Jem wasn't sure if it was from what Will had said, the accent he used as if mocking the teacher, or the fact that he did the accent perfectly. For Jem though this wasn't much of a surprise since Will—and him as well—were part British and Will had lived in England in his early childhood. He dropped the accent years ago finding it much more useful and pleasing to bring it up when it was least expected or…most wanted with the girls.

"Pick an instrument and sit down." And with that spoken the teacher turned his back on Will and walked over to a girl who was having difficulty situating her tuba properly and kept knocking it against her head.

Will grabbed the nearest instrument to him and plopped himself down next to Jem in one of the few remaining seats. In his hands was a triangle. He let out a low whistle—that did not go unnoticed by the teacher as he turned around to quickly glare at Will—and said, "This is a bigger turn out for this class than I thought."

Jem only shook his head as he adjusted a string on his violin. He was one of the few students who actually brought their own instrument. "You know Will there are people out there who appreciate music as much as myself," Jem said in a very low voice trying not to draw the attention of the teacher. "Some even more so."

With a look of disbelief Will replied, "Oh, I hardly doubt that, Jem. Now those people would be on the borderline of obsession." Will didn't bother to keep his voice all that much lower than normal. "But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised this is a required class. I wouldn't be here otherwise."

"Well, that's nice to know how little my presence means to you," Jem replied, as he brought his bow slightly across the strings of the violin making soft, subtle notes.

"Oh, you know that's not what I mean. Music is your passion, not mine. I would just prefer to be doing something else like a sport or…" Uncharacteristically of Will he seemed to be at a loss for a word as he stared at his triangle for inspiration. But whatever he saw in the reflective metal caused a wide grin to appear on his face as he added, "A poetry reading, perhaps."

Jem inwardly groaned. He hated poetry as much as Will hated any music that didn't contain lyrics he could understand. He remembered the last time Will had dragged him to a poetry session with Amelie, and that poem…it was a night he'd rather forget.

As if knowing what Jem was thinking, Will replied, "Oh come on. My last poem was not nearly that awful."

"You rhymed duck with duck three different times and the whole poem was about how malicious ducks can be." Jem shook his head as he played a specific note and then tightened one of the strings at the off sound.

Will looked at him with all the seriousness Will could muster, no trace of a grin, eyes looking straight at him as he spoke words that Jem had hear countless occasions and would probably hear for the rest of his life, "Never trust a duck." And with that said Will turned back to his instrument and hit his beater against the triangle causing a sharp ringing tone to occur. He gave a small smile as he said, "Now this isn't so hard to play."

Jem remained silent, only shaking his head at Will, before he set his bow to strings again and played a continuous melody for the rest of the class.

**A/N: Okay, while I go finish my paper, review and tell me what you think of the modernized characters, the differences, similarities, ect.**

_Short, one sentence for a scene in one of the upcoming chapters._

"Sounds to me like you need a new friend."

_Any guesses on who said it? Or comments?_


	3. First Day Blues

**A/N: So I haven't uploaded in a while, and I don't know when I will upload again. But I've gotten a few recent reviews that inspired me to work on the next chapter. So here you go, enjoy.**

Chapter 2

First Day Blues

When the Spanish class finally let out—saving the student from making any more fools of themselves with their butchered Spanish—every student was making a quick beeline to the door.

"Recuerde que debe estudiar, tendremos nuestra primera prueba a examen de la semana proxima. Estar preparado y no descuidarse," the teacher lolled off quickly in Spanish. There were a few groans as the students heard 'examen' and knew what was to come sometime in the near future.

Getting quickly out of her seat and shoving her books into her bag she tried to catch up to Sophie who had been one of the first to exit the door.

She bumped into a boy with brown eyes and sea-green eyes on her way out. He gave her a slight sneer. "Sorry," she said with her head down before hurrying to catch Sophie.

"Hey, wait," she called out as the girl gave a quick glance over her shoulder. She lifted one eyebrow when Tessa reached her. "I just…I wanted to say thank you, for the earlier translation."

Sophie shrugged looking unconcerned. "No problem."

"Can I ask you a question?" Tessa asked, feeling slightly bold.

"Why not. You already asked one."

"It's just, well, you seemed to be the only other person in the room who knew any Spanish besides the teacher. I'm just curious about that."

With a slight curve upward to her lops Sophie responded, "It's nothing really, I don't know that much. Just know this boy who went to Spain over the summer. A summer study abroad program for high schoolers, or something. Anyway, he taught me a few phrases, a few words when he came back. He's taken Mrs. Gonzales when he was a freshmen trying to learn Spanish and told me she expects you to know quite a bit of Spanish before even stepping foot into her class."

"Oh, dear."

"Oh, dear?" Sophie asked looking over at Tessa. "Are you sure you came from New York, New York?" She shook her head without waiting a response, which would have been _yes, but most of her language was in consequence of her overbearing Aunt Harriet_. "You'll be fine, just study every now and then and you should at least get at least a passing grade by the end of the year. She's supposed to be very generous when it comes to curves…and extra credit."

They paused at the double doors leading to the final escape from the torture chamber known as school. Looking over at Tessa, she seemed to evaluate her, before saying, "Listen there's a party happening on Saturday, over at Martin what's-his-face. It would be a good place to meet people, since your knew and all, and with it being such a small town everyone knows everyone here since they were toddlers." Sophie rolled her eyes as if the thought was ridiculous to her. "I should know I used to be new, years ago."

"Oh," Tessa said. She honestly didn't really like parties but besides Sophie and Jessamine she hardly knew anyone at the school. Certainly not this Martin fellow. She had to sit at the far corner of a lunch table in the cafeteria, it had been packed full of students, but not one that spared her a conversation or two.

"I can pick you up and take you to the party if you want."

"You can drive?" Tessa asked startled. The Spanish One class was supposed to a freshmen to sophomore level class. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen, four days ago, and I just got my license." After seeing a questioning look still on Tessa's face Sophie added, "I'm a sophomore and my parents didn't want me to be the youngest junior so instead they've made me the oldest sophomore." She shrugged. "Not that I really mind. It's not like there's all that much difference between juniors and sophomores. The boys still act like children and the girls act like bitches to get whatever guy they want for the week. Same old, same bull****."

Thinking about it Tessa thought what was the most she had to lose. Humiliation of some type would probably be the worst consequence while she stood to gain maybe a few friends.

"Okay, sure," Tessa replied as she gave Sophie her address. They parted ways as Sophie headed out the door leaving Tessa behind.

With her Aunt Harriet a full class schedule was not enough time for Tessa to spend at school. She expected her to have some type of extracurricular activity added to her schedule. Something she was dreading at this moment as her stomach rumbled.

She turned her head looking out the door and seeing all the students who were gladly escaping and thought of how easy it would be to ditch for fifty-five minutes or so and acting as if she had just left some activity before arriving to Aunt Harriet.

But as Nate had implied, she was a _wuss, a good girl_. She couldn't push herself to ditch and lie to her Aunt so instead she walked over to the bulletin board that listed all the extra activities that could be taken.

Cheerleading was off the list as tryouts started in the summer, not that Tessa had had any intentions or plans to join cheerleading. She wasn't that flexible or comfortable jumping around in a short skirt, especially one that Jessamine had been wearing. Although she wondered if the school cheerleading uniform was really that short or perhaps had some slightly _alternations_.

She didn't know Jessamine that well to be sure.

Looking across the board she settled for the debate team that was open for new members and would be on every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from four to five with a few school debate tournaments on Saturdays. She could spend Tuesdays and Fridays in the school library and she didn't have much trouble when speaking in front of people unlike a few of her peers she had known. It should be a fairly simple and easy activity for her and one that would hopefully please Aunt Harriet enough.

Searching for the room number Tessa let out a groan as she realized the room was all the way on the other side of the building. Tessa should have known it wouldn't be that easy or simple as she turned to make her long trek down the hallway.

* * *

><p>Will was walking out of the school with Jem, starting to make the long trek home when Amelie came running up behind him, a huge smile plastered on her face, and looping her arm through his.<p>

Will was a little surprised as she kissed his cheek. "Shouldn't you be at cheerleading practice with Jessamine?"

Flipping her hair back, a habit that annoyed Will as it reminded him of Jessamine, Amelie replied, "It's only the first day back to school. Nothing important happens the first week, everyone knows that." Cozying up to Will Amelie added, "I wanted to spend my time with you instead." And then as if realizing they weren't alone she looked past Will and smiled at Jem. "And of course with Jem, the Asian stud."

Jem ducked his head, as he replied, "It's nice to see you to Amelie."

With a lifted brow Amelie added, "You know that's what my friend, Sadie, has been calling you. The Asian stud?" She looked over at Will waiting for him to join her ploy.

Will shook his head, knowing subtlety was not Amelie's strong suit, but went along regardless. "Hear that Jem, someone actually thinks you're a stud? I wonder, is your friend blind, Amelie?"

Amelie narrowed her gaze on Will while Jem cracked a smile. "Funny, Will, I'm sure Amelie wishes she was deaf sometimes with your poetry readings."

"Hey, I have a lovely voice."

"Perhaps, but your poems need work."

"You're just jealous of my artistic abilities with rhymes."

"How many times do I have to tell you Will that rhyming a word with the same word doesn't actually make it rhyme."

"Uhhmm," Amelie coughed gaining attention from both boys. She looked heavily annoyed at being forgotten in the midst of their bickering as they had stopped in front of the two glass doors exiting the building.

Jem looked sheepish as he opened the door for both Amelie and Will, while Will on the other hand didn't look apologetic at all, which irritated Amelie further.

Pulling her arm roughly out of Will's grasp as if she hadn't put in the first place she turned to Jem with a scowl. "Look Sadie Hawkins has been really into you since sixth grade. Give her a call, take her to the party on Saturday." She turned her gaze sharply to Will, "The one Will was supposed to tell you about. I'm leaving, see you two later." She turned and started walking away.

"Where are you going? I thought you wanted to spend your time in my glorious company."

Amelie never looked back as she said, "I've changed my mind." In a lower voice she added, "Jem's right sometimes I do wish I'm deaf when it comes to you."

Will looked over at Jem. "Women," he said shaking his head, "they can never seem to make up their minds."

"Only when in the presence of you, Will."

Grinning Will stated, "I guess my appearance and charm is just so…distracting to them. It would be unfair to blame them of something out of all our control."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's the word they would use, distracting."

They set off down the block in silence before Will added, "It is sad though."

"What is?"

"Lack of imagination."

Jem glanced over at Will in confusion.

"Sadie…Hawkins? Are people really that uncreative?"

* * *

><p>It was late by the time Tessa arrived back at her house with Aunt Harriet. Nate was nowhere in sight having apparently felt better to leave the house but not well enough to attend school not that Aunt Harriet was taking much notice. She was too busy telling Tessa more work that was expected from her.<p>

"Your music lessons will be from five ten to six ten every week day, right after school. So you cannot diddle daddle after school, because we will need to drive over there straight away. They'll start on Wednesday." Aunt Harriet walked into the kitchen as Tessa set her backpack on the table. She let out a sigh already feeling overloaded.

Steeling her voice and preparing herself Tessa called out, "I got invited to a party over the weekend."

Aunt Harriet walked back over to her with a slight purse to her lips. "A party?"

"It's over at…uh…Martin's house," Tessa added feeling slightly silly for such little detail under her Aunt's scrutinizing gaze. "Sophie Collins invited me."

"I see. We'll have to take about it then, later," Aunt Harriet replied which wasn't a no but was sure heading in that direction. "We do need to talk about something else though, Tessa." Aunt Harriet sat down as Tessa pulled out a chair as well. "We need to talk about you getting a part-time job somewhere."

Tessa's eyes widened and she couldn't help the words that tumbled out next, "But Nate doesn't even have a job."

There was a slight twitch to her Aunt's eyes but even so her Aunt remained her composure as she responded, "I've already spoken with him and he assures me he'll be getting a job very soon."

Tessa resisted an eye roll. The last thing Tessa suspected was Nate to get a job or even to hold down one, he couldn't be responsible enough to stay with a steady school attendance. And even if he did find some type of job Tessa had a feeling it would be far from legal. She didn't tell her Aunt about this though.

"I've already talked around and there's an opening at a local bookstore." Tessa instantly perked up at the words bookstore. Her Aunt caught this as she added, "I'm not as cruel as you may think Theresa. If you worked there you would get an automatic fifteen percent discount." Her Aunt stood up from the table. "Think about it for the next month or so, but remember that this position won't be open forever."

Her Aunt was already starting to head out the door as Tessa asked, "How will I get there? I don't drive yet."

"It's not a far walk from here, ten to fifteen minutes around the corner. You would work there on Saturdays and Sundays in the afternoon." Heading towards the door, Aunt Harriet looked over her shoulder as she added, "I'll show it to you…over the weekend." Then she left house going somewhere that Tessa didn't know. _Maybe to find Nate? Weren't they always trying to find Nate?_

Turning and opening her backpack Tessa had not forgotten the catch of _over the weekend_. So much for meeting the people at her school. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell Sophie she couldn't go after all.

But there was some goodness for the day, being the bookstore a place that wouldn't be too dreadful to work at for Tessa and that had very appealing perks such as the discount. She hadn't realized it had been so close to her house though, which was another positive, one she could walk to from her house.

The day certainly wasn't too dreadful.

* * *

><p>Jessamine arrived home exhausted and hungry. The cheerleading drills had been torturous as their instructor wanted them in tip top shape for the tournament occurring in a few weeks. Jessamine hated to admit it, but besides the cheerleading tryouts she did over the summer she had let herself get out of shape. She hadn't done as many morning jogs and did far too many tans from laying out in the sun as she didn't believe in tanning beds. What Jessamine was selling was all natural, she strived for that, something that she hoped would work to her advantage.<p>

However, Jessamine was also surprised that Amelie hadn't been at practice. She and another freshmen girl were the only two that hadn't shown up for the practice. A fact that ticked off the coach having already decided that the freshmen girl was kicked off the team and Amelie was hanging on only by a string—only because the coach considered Amelie a team asset. Jessamine had to admit though from what she saw over the summer that for a sophomore Amelie was a very impeccable cheerleader, someone where Jessmaine wanted to be when she was a sophomore.

"Oh good, your finally home, Jess. Dinner's already set and ready," Charlotte, her adopted mother, announced coming into the living room. "You better hurry though, before the boys eat all the food…" Her voice trailed off as she took Jessamine in with a raised eyebrow Charlotte added, "I don't remember your uniform being that short Jessamine."

Without answering the question Jessamine stated, "Didn't you say the boys were getting ready to eat all of dinner." She walked quickly around Charlotte without waiting for a response.

Charlotte sighed and shook her head as she stared after her daughter. She was really not liking these changes in her daughter.

**A/N:**

"_Sounds to me like you need a new friend."_ ~Is still in the upcoming chapters. I will add that the statement is said by Tessa.

And because this was such a short chapter and I don't know when my next update will be:

_She didn't notice until she felt breathing against her neck and a whispered, "Are you looking for someone in particular?" in her ear._


	4. Party Riot

**A/N: This chapter is a lot longer than I expected it to be. I wanted to post this a long, **_**long **_**time ago, but here it is now. Hope you enjoy. Read and review (always appreciated)!**

Chapter 3

Party Riot

The first week of school passed fairly uneventful for Tessa. The school work as of yet wasn't too substantial—as everyone was still getting back into the swing of things—and the debate team was taking things nice and slow as their first tournament was still a month away.

It was Friday and the only homework Tessa truly had was for English. The teacher had assigned a two-page essay over anything related to literature in some way over the weekend before they started their first novel of the semester the coming Monday. Most students usually wrote why literature was an important class to take—an easy essay to write and one that doubled as a kiss-up.

Tessa suspected that not many of the other students would write an essay concerning an actual piece of literature as she found very few of her fellow students readers for pleasure. She had also never come across a reader as avid as her. No, Tessa suspected that even those who did center an essay around a particular novel that novel would most likely be The Hunger Games, a Harry Potter novel, or Twilight. All of which she had read prior and while she considered none of those novels horrendous they were fairly easy, predictable literature pieces to discuss for the modern day.

Not that Tessa's own choice for her paper was all that original as she couldn't help but choose to write over A Tale of Two Cites, a book that had at least a million essays written over it already. But it being Tessa's favorite there was no way she could not write about her favorite story…now she just needed to think of something original to write about it.

Tessa stared down at the paper in front of her willing her hand to move, to write something but nothing was coming to mind. She turned her gaze to her worn, falling apart copy of A Tale of Two Cities. She had read, re-read, re-re-read it so many times had lost count and had almost completely demolished the spine. She could no longer remember what it was she loved so much about the book other than the book itself. And she of course could recite endless quotes from the book, some a few of her personal favorite.

And yet none of that seemed to help as she was tuck writing an essay over anything in the book, anything! She couldn't think of a topic she hadn't thought about before or one she hadn't heard over fifty times before.

She tapped her pencil against the page, listening to the sounds surrounding her. She could hear Aunt Harriet hustling about outside the kitchen. Nate, of course, she had no idea where he had gone off to.

There was an unmistakable tapping coming from the living room towards the kitchen. Aunt Harriet rarely wore high heels and Tessa wasn't allowed any, not that Tessa needed the height at 5'7 nor had Aunt Harriet made that an outright rule, but she had always steered Tessa away from the direction of those types of shoes. And while slightly impractical shoes for her height Tessa knew it had nothing to do with that for her Aunt.

She turned and stared at the opening of the kitchen wondering if Nate would ever wear high heels, and yet unable to picture it.

"Meredith!" Tessa called out as the tall, flowing brunette came into the room.

She smiled lifting her sunglasses to her top of her head as her stormy gray eyes—much darker than Tessa's—peered at Tessa. She walked up over to the counter that Tessa was sitting at.

"What are you doing here?" Tessa asked as Meredith slung an arm across her shoulder.

"What, I have to have a reason to visit my favorite grandniece, second cousin once removed?" She gave Tessa's arms a squeeze as she added with a shrug, "It's hard to keep track of the tree line."

As Meredith let go of her shoulders, Tessa smiled. "Well I'm pretty sure I'm not your grandniece."

"You're right," Meredith replied with a smirk. "I'm way too young to be a grand of anything."

"What are you doing here, Meredith?" Aunt Harriet asked looking quiet unhappy. If there was anyone Aunt Harriet greatly disliked—because hate was a word that was never allowed—it was Meredith Gray.

"Ah, it's nice to see you too, cuz."

"I'm not your cousin."

Meredith shrugged. "Once cousin-in-law, it's basically the same."

Aunt Harriet was unamused. "How did you get in here Meredith?" Her gaze turned sharply on Tessa.

With a hand placed on Tessa's shoulder, Meredith's smile fell. "She didn't let me in Harriet. I let myself in."

With her gaze back on Meredith, Aunt Harriet stated. "You can't let yourself into other people's homes it's illegal Meredith."

"The door was unlocked and it wasn't other people's it was my relatives house, who I thought would be more welcoming."

There was silence as the two of them stared each other down. Finally Aunt Harriet seemed to slightly deflate as she shook her head and walked past both Meredith and Tessa heading for the sink…and the bottle of aspirin. Meredith smiled as if she had just received an early Christmas present.

"I thought you were somewhere in China," Aunt Harriet said in a somewhat conversational tone as she took two pills.

"I was in Dalian, Shenzhen, and Beijing mostly to be specific," Meredith replied as Aunt Harriet stared at her over a glass of water.

Tessa looked between the two women. The only name Tessa had recognized Meredith saying was Beijing, all the other names were foreign to her ears which wasn't much of a shock to her. Tessa like most of the family wasn't sure what it was Meredith did exactly other than it concerned American and China business relations and that her degree was in Business Communications.

"It was a fairly productive nineteen months I have to say. But nothing beats being back home in the States," Meredith said looking over at Tessa, "with family, of course. So now what have you been doing as of late Tessa? Have you made any new friends in town?"

"A few," Tessa replied as she could feel her Aunt's gaze upon her. "Sophie and Jessie."

Meredith nodded leaning against the corner. "So no boys yet?" she teased as Tessa blushed slightly. "They'll come soon enough."

"They better not," Aunt Harriet muttered under her breath.

But Meredith either didn't hear the statement or choose to ignore it—more likely the latter. "How about parties? Gone to any of the wild parties around here yet?"

Tessa immediately thought back to Sophie and how she had to tell her that she couldn't make it to the party and that instead she would be applying for a part-time job. Sophie had looked sympathetic and said that she understood. Although Tessa had noted that Sophie hadn't talk to her much after that, not that they had many chances with only sharing a class where you couldn't speak English.

It had been even harder when Jessamine started to talk about Martin Bakshaw's party on Saturday and how she was contemplating on whether or not to show up or in Jessamine speak 'grace them with my presence.' Jessamine was fairly cocky for a freshman in high school, but that probably had to do more with it being a small town.

Tessa had found out not only Martin's last name but that the party would be unsupervised and would start at seven and supposedly end at two in the morning.

"No, unlike you Meredith, Theresa is a well-behaved, respectful, young lady. Nothing at all like you were when you were a teenager," Aunt Harriet answered for Tessa looking smug.

Tessa looked at Meredith expecting her to be upset but instead she saw a faint smile touch Meredith's lips. "That's probably for the best," Meredith responded, earning a frustrated look from Aunt Harriet. Meredith looked back down at Tessa as she continued, "But you still should as they say 'live a little'. Certainly not as much as me though. Are there any parties happening around here yet? Or is too early in the semester?"

Tessa looked over at her Aunt Harriet and could see her Aunt staring at her hard, not wanting her to answer the question. And Tessa for the most part usually did what her Aunt told her to do. She didn't want to fight her, it was never a fight she was going to win and even if she did what good would it do her.

Still with Meredith here Tessa felt braver and more rebellious—Meredith just had that effect. It was no secret in the family that Meredith had been quite the stereotypical rebellious catholic teenage girl.

"Actually," Tessa said looking over at Meredith, "there is a party on Saturday over at Martin Bakshaw's house."

Meredith's eyebrows rose as she asked in a genuinely surprised voice, "And you're planning on attending instead of staying here reading a book?" There was a quirk to her lips as she teased Tessa.

"Well…not exactly. I have a part-time job interview that—"

But before Tessa could finish Meredith interrupted, "A part-time job? At fourteen, barely?" Meredith shifted her gaze to Aunt Harriet. "You're making her get a job."

"It'll be fine work experience for her and she needs to start earning her own income," Aunt Harriet replied, looking pleased with herself.

"She's fourteen."

Aunt Harriet lowered her gaze. "Not everyone can be spending all their free-time high off drugs at some wild party." She turned her gaze to Tessa even though she was still speaking to Meredith. "She's not going to that party."

"Making her get a job is all the more reason she should go to the party." Meredith paused taking a breath as if to calm herself. "How long does one job application take anyway? Certainly not an entire day and my guest is the application occurs mid-morning to afternoon while the party would occur at night. No reason she can't attend both."

Now Aunt Harriet was getting angry as she walked over to Meredith. "I am not having my niece attend an unsupervised party that would be completely irresponsible."

Meredith looked at Tessa and asked, "Is it unsupervised?"

"Well…kind of…Martin's older brother is supposed to be there though," Tessa said as both women stared at her. "He's nineteen."

Aunt Harriet was shaking her head. "A teenager watching other teenagers, most ludicrous thing I've ever heard."

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic Harriet. He's still an adult regardless. Besides what do plan on doing, keeping Tessa locked in the house until she goes to college. My parents tried that and it didn't work. She needs social interaction and dealing with her own problems along with the schooling." Aunt Harriet didn't look convinced and Tessa could see her eye was starting to twitch. "You can't keep her a recluse. She needs to make mistakes. It's the only way she'll learn." There was a heavy silence before Meredith added, "How's it going with Nate?"

Aunt Harriet looked from Meredith to Tessa and back again. "Fine," she shouted throwing her arms in the air in anger. She turned her gaze sharply on Tessa ignoring Meredith completely. "I want you home no later than nine, I don't care when the party starts. This is one chance I'm giving you Tessa and I wouldn't waste it." She stormed out of the room without looking back on either Meredith or Tessa.

Looking satisfied Meredith turned to Tessa. "And that my girl is how it's done. Now, where is that brother of yours?"

Tessa shrugged her shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

><p>The party was already in mid-swing by the time Sophie drove up with Tessa beside her. Tessa was beaming as the interview she had that afternoon with the bookstore manager had gone great. She had been hired on the spot (after only a few questions) and because she would be working at the bookstore would get an automatic fifteen percent discount off the merchandise—books! Excluding books that had been released within the past two months, but still.<p>

Yeah, Tessa already knew where most of her paycheck would be going into. Was it bad that your place of employment not only your time and effort but most of your money? It was probably a conflict of interest, not that Tessa really cared.

"Uh, earth to Theresa?" Sophie said waving her hand in front of Tessa's face.

"Oh," Tessa looked over at her friend? who was already standing outside of the car leaning in. She gave Tessa raised eyebrows as Tessa's added, "Just daydreaming for a bit."

"Well if your done daydreaming, there is a party going on a few feet from us. Unless you're having your own private party in your head?"

Opening the door and stepping out, Tessa replied, "No. I'm good, let's go in."

They walked past of the line of cars and up the front steps to the house. Tessa was about to press the doorbell when Sophie said, "Don't bother. Doubt they would even hear it over the music."

The music was fairly loud, Tessa had to admit, even when they were driving up to the house she could hear they thump and beat of the music. Wouldn't someone in the neighborhood call the police for disturbance of the peace?

Sophie turned the knob and pushed open the door walking in with Tessa at her heels.

Everyone was talking, dancing, or on their phones texting. The music was even louder than Tessa had expected almost to the point where it was hurting her ears and while she could tell that there was someone singing in the song she couldn't make out the words.

Someone had caught Sophie's eye and waved to her. Sophie waved back before turning to Tessa. "I'm going to go catch up with someone, I'll meet up with you in a few minutes. 'Kay?" Sophie practically shouted at Tessa.

Tessa nodded as Sophie disappeared off into the crowd. Not even a minute in and Tessa felt out of place in the party. Maybe this was a mistake?

Well, if it was, it was too late now to turn back. So instead Tessa turned and walked through the house trying to find a quieter area.

* * *

><p>An hour had passed by as Tessa sat down on the couch by herself as she looked through the crowd for Sophie. Barely able to believe that Sophie just left her there, all alone, when she very well knew that Tessa knew <em>nobody<em> at this party. The facts were Sophie ditched her and Tessa just hoped that it had been an unconscious act. And she prayed that soon Sophie would realize what she had done and come looking for her. Tessa was never one who was comfortable attending a large party, let alone one where she didn't know ninety-five percent of the attendants.

She was staring through the swaying bodies of the teenagers, trying to find a flash of auburn hair tied together with a red ribbon, but she was coming up empty. She was so intent on her search for her newest friend that she didn't notice that she was no longer the only one sitting on the couch anymore. She didn't notice until she felt breathe on her neck and a whispered, "Are you looking for someone in particular?" in her ear.

She jumped, startled, and looked over at the boy who was already leaning away a grin plastered on his face. Tessa stared at the strange boy for several minutes. He was a fairly built guy and looked to be a grade or two older than her perhaps. He had dark, short hair and piercing blue eyes the color of the ocean at night. And, of course a look that stated he couldn't care less about the world as he leaned back into the couch. He was holding onto a cup and as Tessa looked at the dark mixture swirling in the cup she wondered if it was alcoholic.

Looking back up she stared into his eyes to see if they were dilated. A sign she always used with Nate to see if he was drunk although lately all she had to do was breathe in his direction and the smell of liquor would slam against her face. His eyes didn't look too dilated.

The boy's grin seemed to widen she noticed and then she saw his eyes traveling across her body. _Is he checking me out?_ And then Tessa realized that she had kind of, sort of, had been checking him out although for her it had been completely innocent, but still.

She turned away trying to hide her blush. It was rude of her to do and she knew her Aunt Harriet would be yelling at her right now if she knew she was being impolite.

_That is not how I raised you to behave, young lady, _she would say_._ Aunt Harriet had been tougher on Tessa now than ever before ever since Nate started to really act up.

He seemed to be shaking his head as he looked at her. "You haven't gone too many parties, have you?" he asked and Tessa was unsure if he was making conversation or really wanted to know. Either way she felt offended, slightly, even though it was true.

She lifted an eyebrow and said, "Oh, and what would make you think that?"

He titled his head and face masked of expression as he replied, "Well, for starters you're not trying to in with the crowd, make conversations, meet new people. Second you're sitting on the couch with a neon sign on your face telling people to stay away."

"I do not have a neon sign on my face stating that," Tessa said with furrowed eyebrows.

His lips curved up slightly towards the corner as he replied, pointing his finger, "With that look you do."

"It's not nice to point," Tessa replied but the boy looked unfazed as he took a sip from his drink and watched her. Tessa squirmed under his gaze waiting for him to leave and rejoin whatever group he was there with.

"You're really not enjoying yourself here, are you?"

It was silent, or well, it wasn't really silent with the stereo streaming out music and people talking, shouting, and laughing all around them, but it _was_ silent between the two of them.

"No," Tessa answered. "I'm not huge into parties and certainly not large parties where I hardly no anyone."

"Well, that makes two of us," the boy responded as Tessa looked over at him in surprise. He looked like he was enjoying his time here and certainly looked like he blended in nicely with the party crowd. He was incredibly good-looking though Tessa would never state it out loud. Could he possibly be lying to her to seem empathic?

There was a shout in the distance (a very loud shout considering the music blaring) and a girl waving her hands in the air wildly. It broke the gaze between Tessa and the boy, a gaze that Tessa didn't even realize had occurred. Will's demeanor seemed to shift as he recognized the girl.

_Probably his girlfriend?_

He stood up preparing to head over to her when he looked back down at Tessa with a slight grin. "Hey, you want to join us. Sure would beat being here by yourself."

"Thanks," Tessa replied as she stood up. "But I really should get back to my friend. She's probably looking for me."

"Are you sure?" the boy asked. With a smirk he added, "You look like you could use saving from your boredom."

Tessa's eyebrows furrowed as she stated, "The last thing I need is a wannabe-Sir-Galahad." With that Tessa walked away without noticing the strange look the boy was shooting her way or the girl who had caught up to him, upset and shouting.

* * *

><p>Worry started to settle into Tessa as the time kept ticking by with no sight of Sophie, her ride home. <em>It's probably already nine. Aunt Harriet is going to be furious with me.<em>

Tessa had made it all the way upstairs where the blare of the music wasn't quite as loud. Her eardrums were thankful for that. She was passing the doors, all of them shut, and noise coming from a few of them that Tessa didn't want to ponder nor did she want to peek through any of the doors.

She had reached the end of the hall when she turned around ready to head back down the stairs. She jumped in surprise as she saw two identical girls with long dark hair staring at her.

"Sss-so-orry," Tessa stammered. "I didn't see you there…or hear you." The girls stared at her with dark eyes as Tessa's nerves heightened. Their silence and the way they looked at her was eerie and had her frightened.

"A freshman," one of the girls told the other.

"Indeed," the second girl replied.

There was a moment of silence.

"You do know what is done to freshmen at parties here, as tradition dictates," the first stated rather than asked.

"I believe I do."

Tessa stepped back as she hit the wall. She suddenly felt like a gazelle being cornered by two lions. "Uh, I think…I have to go…it was nice mee—"

But Tessa never finished as the second girl shot at her with lightning speed. It surprised Tessa as she kept most of her attention on the first girl who had been the one really speaking. Tessa struggled against the second girl's grip but was deterred by the strength of the girl. The first girl came down to her level unwrapping her scarf around her throat. "You won't be going anywhere, my dear."

Tessa's eyes widened as the girl brought the scarf closer to her mouth ready to gag her. Tessa opened her mouth wide, ready to let out a high-pitched scream, but before she was able to scream the second girl slammed her hard against the wall, knocking her shoulder and her head.

Immediately Tessa went unconscious.

The first girl looked at the second girl. "Was that really necessary?"

The second girl only shrugged in response.

**A/N: Alright, what do you guys think? Do you like it? What do you think about the addition of Meredith? Do you know who the mysterious boy is (though it's quite obvious) or the identical girls (not quite as obvious)? Or what is going to happen to Tessa next? As always leave your thoughts and opinions in a review. Thank your for reading and hope you enjoyed.**


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